


by himself

by kynikos



Series: zk drabbles 12.20 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Depression, Drabble, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Zutara Drabble December 2020, and other tags but i can't be bothered, zkdd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27928927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kynikos/pseuds/kynikos
Summary: Zuko struggles when he's alone. And Katara doesn't want him to be lonely.Written for Zutara Drabble December!
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: zk drabbles 12.20 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037115
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	by himself

**Author's Note:**

> here's my fic for day 6 of zutara drabble december! the prompt was 'Are You Lonely?'

It gets quiet in his room when he’s by himself. The air is so still that when he stops moving, the only sound he can hear is the faint ringing in his left ear. He taps on his desk, mindlessly, listlessly, as an attempt to throw something into the empty silence. Even his breathing is muffled, the tapestries on the walls and the rugs on the floor deafening any echo. He hums one of the songs Iroh would sing on the ship as he tries to ignore the persistent emptiness of the room.

It gets cold in his room when he’s by himself. He’s a firebender, so it shouldn’t be a problem; but the weight of the silence presses down on him and he can’t bring himself to so much as make a flame in his palm. There’s an almost visible circle of warmth in the room, with him in the center, and as the sun sets the warmth shrinks, creeping across the floor, until it begins to seep into his feet on the floor and his arms on his desk. He pulls back, drawing into himself, but the simple act of setting a fire in the fireplace seems impossibly distant. When it gets like this, he can do nothing but let the cold happen, like he's watching himself from a distance.

It gets dark in his room when he’s by himself. When he sits still for long enough, by himself as he is, the idea of lighting a candle is just as impossible as crossing the room to light a fire. There’s even an unlit candle on his desk, wick still white and clean, almost mocking him with its nearness. But he looks at it and cannot bring himself to lift a hand to set it alight. He feels frozen in his chair as the crushing stillness and the numbing cold, and the gathering darkness, bear down on him. He knows, somehow, in the back of his mind, that he could do something about it. But he can’t make himself want to. So he sits, and it is quiet and cold and dark.

Katara pushes the door open cautiously and peers into the room.

“Zuko?”

“Hey,” he says, feeling a smile making its way to his face― slowly, to be sure, but her simple presence is enough to shake him out of whatever it is he’s gotten into.

“It’s so dark,” she says, coming in hesitantly. “Are you lonely?”

Something catches in his throat. Not the smile. That’s already made it to his face, and she’s smiled back at him, lighting up the room better than any candle. But he swallows, and manages to say, “A little, yeah.”

“I'm here,” she tells him, simply and matter-of-factly, the hug and the hand she runs through his hair warmer than any fire. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. Out of this cold room.” She tugs on his arm and he stands automatically. “Let’s go look at the stars or something. We could make it a date.”

They do look at the stars. And even though he doesn’t talk much, choosing instead to listen to her, it’s by far louder than his room. And whenever she looks at him, being by himself seems that much further away. She is noise, warmth, and light― and he is not lonely anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> wow this month is really taking it out of me... 
> 
> this fic was betaed by the amazing [moonzspirit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonzspirit/pseuds/moonzspirit)! go check her stuff!
> 
> as always, go look at the other awesome works in this collection. this event is producing a ton of good writing, and yall should go read it. comment and kudos and everything to everyone in there!
> 
> survive!


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